Wall Street stock index futures pointed to a mixed start for U.S. equities on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 <.SPc1> trading flat, Dow Jones futures <.DJc1> down 0.1 percent, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.1 percent by 0847 GMT.

* Ratings agency Standard & Poor's warned there was a one-in-two chance it could cut the United States' triple-A rating if a deal on raising the government debt ceiling is not agreed soon.

* President Barack Obama suspended U.S. budget negotiations for the day to give congressional leaders a chance to come up with a plan of action on how to unblock talks meant to cut deficits and avert a debt default.

* U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke backed off hints additional near-term stimulus could be on the way, undercutting comments from a day earlier that spurred a late-session rally in equities.

* Technology shares will be in focus after Google Inc reported adjusted quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street's most bullish forecasts, sending its shares up 12.3 percent in after-hours trading.

* Citigroup is set to report quarterly earnings, with investors likely to scrutinize the bank's loan book for signs it is on a sustainable path to profit growth. Analysts expect the bank to post earnings per share of $0.96 from $0.90 a year ago.

* The U.S. consumer price index (CPI), due at 1230 GMT, is seen falling 0.1 percent in June after a 0.2 percent rise in May, giving an unchanged annualized inflation rate of 3.6 percent.

* July's Empire State index is also due at 1230 GMT, while the July Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey will be released at 1355 GMT.

* Top global miner BHP Billiton is to buy U.S. gas producer Petrohawk Energy Corp for $12.1 billion, ramping up its bets on the booming but environmentally controversial shale gas industry.

* Taiwan's TSMC <2330.TW> has started trial manufacturing of next generation A6 chips for Apple Inc , a source familiar with the matter said, in a sign that the iPad maker is shifting from its traditional chip supplier Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>.

* Investigations are progressing into the U.S. operations of News Corp after the UK phone hacking scandal, U.S. Attorney-General Eric H. Holder said in Australia on Friday.

* UBS won a review by a Manhattan federal judge of $2.6 billion of lawsuits brought by the trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff's firm, at least the fourth time a bank has obtained access to that court.

* Oracle Corp wants to question Google Chief Executive Larry Page in the course of high stakes patent litigation between the two companies, according to a court filing.

* In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was lower in early trade, with banks under pressure ahead of the publication of stress test results which are expected to show around 10 European lenders have insufficient capital to withstand a prolonged recession.

(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by David Holmes)